


don't forget to close the heaven door

by lovemarket



Series: stillness in woe [21]
Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Angels & Demons, Angels, Character Death, Death, Established Relationship, Flashbacks, Heaven, M/M, Mentions of Death, Nine Choirs of Angels, Purgatory
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-02
Updated: 2020-02-02
Packaged: 2021-02-28 06:41:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,042
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22519426
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lovemarket/pseuds/lovemarket
Summary: Sometimes Jeno misses living.
Relationships: Lee Donghyuck | Haechan/Lee Jeno
Series: stillness in woe [21]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1078545
Comments: 3
Kudos: 26





	don't forget to close the heaven door

**Author's Note:**

> [a free song](https://open.spotify.com/track/3Y8XpUFQzTGSEDuApfyJV1?si=bP4AB7BhShGLKCKIZcOtPw)

The convenience store is dingy and run down. The lights in the ceiling barely work, flickering in the back every ten to fifteen minutes. 

It’s usually a ghost town as there’s no way to tell how time passes in Purgatory. It could be the crack of dawn. Maybe it’s afternoon and the sun is shining. There’s a possibility living human’s clocks read 19:27 and working people are returning home for dinner. 

Jeno sinks further into his own hand supporting the weight of his head. All he knows is that he should be going on break soon. 

The bell on top of the door rings and someone walks in. Jeno stares uninterestedly, his gaze locked on a crack in the slightly linoleum floor. Boss is probably gonna tell him to go over with a mop. He might not.

_Step on a crack, break your mother’s back_ , Jeno thinks. A flash of his human life ignites in a corner of his mind. 

He’s about five, walking on the sidewalk with a friend by his side in the scorching heat of summer. They’re skipping and jumping over the cracks and lines of the concrete, repeating the childish phrase. 

His friend lands on a crack and kid Jeno gasps in shock. _“Your mama’s back!”_

The little boy in front of him laughs. _“It’s just a game.”_ The child’s high pitched voice resonates in Jeno’s ears, reverbing as though they were in a completely empty stadium, just the two of them, the heat, and the sidewalk. 

Sometimes Jeno misses living. 

“Hello?” The customer waves a hand in front of Jeno’s face. He raises an eyebrow. They must be new here. 

Jeno nods to the door. “There’s no currency here. Take what you need and go.”

The customer seems wary, unsure if they should take his advice. Jeno doesn’t really blame them, he knows he looks like he hates his job and would probably do anything to get fired like any other living eighteen year old. 

(Oh yeah, Jeno died when he was eighteen.)

“O-okay.” The spirit leaves, the bell on the door ringing as they exit. 

Jeno goes back to wallowing, messing around with things on the counter. A box of cigarettes catch his dwindling attention. Marlboro. Hm, the remnant of a smirk quirking at his mouth. 

“I’m going on my break!” Jeno yells, hoping Boss hears him, wherever the son of a bitch is. 

He closes the door behind him, taking a chair and sitting on the small platform in front of the mirror. 

There’s another door, the back door that he creaks open a bit so the smoke doesn’t waft into the store. It’s not permitted, not for employees to open. 

A co-worker had pointed to the sign one day that Jeno ignored. _Don’t forget to close the Heaven door._

Angels can come in, but not just any Angels so it’s dangerous for the door to stay open when the break room is unoccupied. 

It’s usually because of the new Angels, the ones that had just finished serving their time in Purgatory and come back since Purgatory is closer to Earth than Heaven. They try to go back, get a second chance. Most don’t have Earth Access. 

Only Seraphim Angels are permitted to return to Earth to give messages to those God has intended them for, like Gabriel to Mary. Recently, more like in the last 2,000 years, there hasn’t been any real reason for Seraphim to leave their realm. It’s a big issue to leave the door open but Jeno is waiting for someone so he doesn’t really care much. 

Jeno lights the cigarette and pockets the matches. He doesn’t smoke. Not since… Not since his mother. 

The thought brings him back to freshman year. 

His mother worked for NASA, was finally going on an Expedition with her crew. They’d worked hard, in simulations and such for years, waiting for their time to come. Jeno remembered getting out of a lot of classes to attend conferences with his dad, having Press clearance to be able to watch his mother at the table and discuss the mission for big newspapers like the Wall Street Journal and television stations like MSNBC. 

The morning his mother’s crew was scheduled for takeoff felt like a dream. He missed school that day too, his friends wishing him luck, and his mother, by extension. They promised to write up notes and send by his homework.

He stood just in the clearance area with his father and other bystanders who were passionate NASA followers as well as other workers who knew Jeno’s mother and the crew well. “You must be so proud,” some of them would comment, and ask if Jeno would follow in her footsteps. 

His plan was to go somewhere with architecture if he didn’t end up enjoying astrophysics but he didn’t let anyone except his friends know of that backup plan. It didn’t come to fruition anyway. 

The countdown ends and the ship is ascending in the air. The smile on Jeno’s face hurts until it falls, just like the ship his mother and her crew is in. 

The explosion causes his ears to ring and everyone is screaming, there’s chaos all around and Jeno doesn’t know what to do. His body and mind is in shock and just like that, one of the happiest days of his life becomes the worst. 

Jeno taps the cigarette and watches the ashes fall to the floor. 

He died in a similar way. But he doesn’t like to think about it much. It’s a good thing he doesn’t have to, a knock on the Heaven door causing his head to shoot up, breaking him out of his trance. 

The steel scraps against the linoleum and a head of silver, curly hair pokes out from around the corner. 

“Hey,” the voice whispers as a greeting. They step in, new wings taking up space in the room. 

A ghost of a smile turns Jeno’s lips. “Hey, Donghyuck,” he breathes. 

The Angel’s eyes immediately catch the cigarette in Jeno’s hand, a frown etched onto their face. “Again?”

Jeno averts his eyes for a moment. He hums in acknowledgement. “Newbie came today. Made me remember how much I hate it here.”

Donghyuck snorts. “Wasn’t much better on Earth.”

“I had you, though.” Jeno disagrees.

He looks up, a smile adorning his lips. Jeno likes this look on him. 

“Anyone step on that crack you keep telling me about?”

Jeno laughs a little. “No, but I always think about that time. I was really convinced something was going to happen to your mom,” He admits, though he’s not as embarrassed about it anymore. 

Jeno sits with Donghyuck like that for what feels like forever. Jeno tells him about the Spirits he sees outside the shoppe. It’s not as interesting as what Donghyuck has to say about some of the Angels he’s met but it’s enough to get Jeno’s mind out of the gutter it’s usually in. 

A question he’s been meaning to ask pops into his brain and he lets it out. 

“Meet anyone you know?”

At the question, the atmosphere suddenly becomes tense. 

Donghyuck’s hand is rubbing at his elbow. “Your mother is there. Almost had a breakdown seeing me, asked about you. I had to tell her about… you know.”

Jeno closes his eyes. Believe him, he knows. 

Donghyuck is talking about that day. The day they died. 

He knows it was well into summer, only a few weeks left until move in for university. He and Donghyuck were driving back from a drive-in movie, blasting music from the AUX and screaming lyrics like teenagers do. 

The windows were down even though it was drizzling. The highway was clear and all was well. It was a perfect date, a perfect day. Jeno hadn’t had one of those in a long time. 

The speed limit was fifty-five but the truck in front of them was going way above that. The truck was driving in the opposite direction on the wrong side of the road, swerving everywhere across the pavement. 

“ _Hyuck! Do something_!” Jeno shouts, his heart pounding in his chest. 

The younger’s hands are gripping the steering wheel so tightly his knuckles are white. “ _Jen, I don’t- The road is slippery!_ ”

The truck hits the car, flipping the vehicle over and into the hard shoulder and metal traffic barrier of the highway. Glass breaks and everything is dark for God knows how long. 

Jeno feels awful, like complete shit and Donghyuck is mumbling and there’s red in places it shouldn’t be. 

Donghyuck is too close, his hand gripping Jeno’s. “ _Wake the fuck up_!” His voice is hoarse and wet. The click sounds and 

“ _Stay awake, boys_ ,” another voice says, their tone steady. It must be the ambulance. Jeno is tired. 

_“You have to let go-”_

_“No!”_

A hand is lightly slapping Jeno’s face and a respirator is being placed on him. _“Breathe for us, kid.”_ The voice tells him. Jeno is trying but it hurts so bad. He wants his mother but she’s gone too. If he’s gone he can see her. 

He wants to let go so bad. 

“ _Donghyuck_ ,” He croaks. 

“ _Your friend is fine._ ” The stranger answers. 

The warmth of his hand is gone. Jeno squints, sees them put him in a different ambulance. 

After that, Jeno doesn’t remember much. Knows he was in the hospital for a while. How long? Not sure. 

Doesn’t remember the day he died but he knows he gave up. Couldn’t keep going. Didn’t like the wires or the flowers or the visitors or the nothingness his body was floating in. 

Seems like he didn’t escape the darkness of a coma and his mind. Purgatory is just wandering souls, working to repent for their sins. Jeno didn’t think he had any sins to make up for. But he’s here so that’s a bummer. 

Donghyuck left before him. Donghyuck is better at doing things to get what he wants. Did his designated work diligently and was able to finish his reparations. Left to go to Heaven without Jeno. Jeno doesn’t blame him. He’s used to people leaving. But Donghyuck comes back. 

“She’s waiting for you.” Donghyuck continues. 

Jeno is sure of it. He’s waiting to get out of this rundown, waste of time convenience store. Waiting for the Boss to say he’s done here. Waiting to be told he can walk through the Heaven door and never come back. 

“Don’t want to think about it,” Jeno grumbles, watching the ashes fall off the cigarette. It’s close to the butt, almost burning out. 

Donghyuck takes it from his fingers and stomps it out. Takes a seat next to him. 

His wings are big, bump into the mirror and the left one engulfs Jeno. The feathers are soft and brush against his arms. 

“You’re almost done, you know.” 

Jeno knows Donghyuck is only trying to make him feel better. Maybe if he’d tried harder at this they’d be in Heaven together now. He wouldn’t be so miserable here, not even knowing the day or time. 

“I don’t want to be _almost_ done. I want to get the fuck out of here.” Jeno sighs. 

“I hate being a soul,” he continues. Donghyuck wraps an arm around Jeno’s frame, pulling him close. 

“Soon, you’ll be an Angel. And we’ll spend all our time together.”

Jeno doesn’t want it to be soon. He wants it to be now. 

Donghyuck presses a kiss to the crown of Jeno’s head. “I’ll come back.” It’s a promise, one that hasn’t been broken. 

Jeno nods. His break is over. Donghyuck has to go back before Dominion Angels realize he’s gone. Apparently they’re strict. There are even curfews in Heaven, he’s come to learn with the anecdotes Donghyuck tells him. 

He’s the same troublemaker they were in life, cutting it close to getting to where he needs to be. The Dominions like him though so they let him off the hook. Only sometimes. The older ones think he’s annoying.

Soon enough, just like everyone else, Donghyuck leaves. 

He waves before disappearing, crossing between realms.

_Don’t forget to close the Heaven door._ The sign glares at him.

For now, Jeno is content with 'forgetting' and leaves it open.

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> [twitter](http://www.twitter.com/lcvemarket)


End file.
